11:45 Then many of the people, 1 who had come with Mary and had seen the things Jesus 2 did, believed in him. 11:46 But some of them went to the Pharisees 3 and reported to them 4 what Jesus had done. 11:47 So the chief priests and the Pharisees 5 called the council 6 together and said, “What are we doing? For this man is performing many miraculous signs. 11:48 If we allow him to go on in this way, 7 everyone will believe in him, and the Romans will come and take away our sanctuary 8 and our nation.”
1 tn Or “the Judeans”; Grk “the Jews.” Here the phrase refers to the friends, acquaintances, and relatives of Lazarus or his sisters who had come to mourn, since the Jewish religious authorities are specifically mentioned as a separate group in John 11:46-47. See also the notes on the phrase “the Jewish leaders” in v. 8 and “the Jewish people of the region” in v. 19, as well as the notes on the word “people” in vv. 31, 33 and the phrase “people who had come to mourn” in v. 36.
2 tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
3 sn See the note on Pharisees in 1:24.
4 tn Grk “told them.”
5 tn The phrase “chief priests and Pharisees” is a comprehensive name for the groups represented in the ruling council (the Sanhedrin) as in John 7:45; 18:3; Acts 5:22, 26.
6 tn Or “Sanhedrin” (the Sanhedrin was the highest legal, legislative, and judicial body among the Jews). The συνέδριον (sunedrion) which they gathered was probably an informal meeting rather than the official Sanhedrin. This is the only occurrence of the word συνέδριον in the Gospel of John, and the only anarthrous singular use in the NT. There are other plural anarthrous uses which have the general meaning “councils.” The fact that Caiaphas in 11:49 is referred to as “one of them” supports the unofficial nature of the meeting; in the official Sanhedrin he, being high priest that year, would have presided over the assembly. Thus it appears that an informal council was called to discuss what to do about Jesus and his activities.
7 tn Grk “If we let him do thus.”
8 tn Or “holy place”; Grk “our place” (a reference to the temple in Jerusalem).